5 ms·

Arguably a university like that is even worse than a state school. At least I've heard of University of Arizona or UT Austin (both decent state research schools

Arguably a university like that is even worse than a state school. At least I've heard of University of Arizona or UT Austin (both decent state research schools). I've literally never heard of Wake Forest.

arrosenberg 4y ago
Every college basketball fan knows Wake Forest because Tim Duncan played there.
panzagl 4y ago
If you're even mildly aware of college sports you've heard of Wake Forest. And like many schools in the Southeast, the name means more locally. Also, not everyone has to become a developer.
- slg 4y ago
  And this is one of the main reasons schools spend money on sports. It is a very cost-efficient form of marketing. I'm not just aware of the name Wake Forrest because of sports, but I know that it is a tough academic school and think highly of its graduates because of sports.
  - temporarara 4y ago
    This is exactly why I don't follow college sports. In my honest opinion sports is an important aspect of life but the place for it is not in academia (whether used for marketing or not). It really devalues and even humiliates the academic institutions and their research if all you know about them is that they've got a good sports team.
    - slg 4y ago
      > It really devalues and even humiliates the academic institutions and their research if all you know about them is that they've got a good sports team. I think you misunderstood my point. Sports was my introduction to the school. That does not mean sports is the only thing I know about the school. I learned about their academic reputation because of sports.
dieselgate 4y ago
Oh well it doesn’t really matter if one person from the internet hasnt heard of it, wake forest even has a medical school. Thinking of how “good” an institution is based on name recognition doesn’t scale that well or mean that much. What about McGill University or Reed College? Not trying to be snarky or rude it’s just not a solid metric to gauge things like this based on personal familiarity, given how vast the world is.
- strikelaserclaw 4y ago
  i think OP's point was just about ROI from going to a certain school. Wake forest might be a great school but paying 60-65k per year to go there isn't what i would say is a good move financially. Just my personal opinion but if a person's talent and skill are kept constant, then the difference in life outcomes (financially, professionally) for that person from going to wake forest vs going to a tier 3 school which is much cheaper is probably not that great. On the other end, going to MIT could affect your life in a significant way, maybe your roomate is the next Bill Gates.
  - taylodl 4y ago
    The whole point is only the ultra-rich (or woefully ignorant) are paying the full retail price for college. Very few people are paying $65K to go to Wake Forest. If they want you then they'll make it affordable for you. If they don't want you then the retail price should drive you away. If you're a sucker then they'll gladly take your money. That's the game colleges have been playing for at least the last 40 years.
- red-iron-pine 4y ago
  Outside of a few folks in NE, no one in the US knows what McGill is. Source: American in Canada, have a buncha in-laws who went to McGill. No idea what Reed College is.
  - dieselgate 4y ago
    That was kind of my point, McGill is one of the most prestigious universities in Canada/North America/the world and most Americans would have never heard of it
dieselgate 4y ago
I think “state school” refers more towards “Utah state university” instead of university of Utah etc. Don’t think people would refer to UT or UoA as state schools They’re all massive state run institutions though
- red-iron-pine 4y ago
  "state school" doesn't have anything to do with the name having the word "state" in it. it means the school is funded by the individual states; it's not private. U of Texas is absolutely and unquestionable a state school -- it is funded and run by the state of Texas. People absolutely would refer to it in the category of "state schools" -- it's not a private institution compared to something like Rice or Baylor.
  - dieselgate 4y ago
    We’re both right and I mentioned they’re obviously state run institutions. if someone in Michigan says “I go to state” someone isn’t gonna reply “oh University of Michigan or michigan state?” Edit: in California the csu (California state university) system is considered the state university system and is different organizationally than the UC (university of California) system. Though they’re both public state run institutions.
red-iron-pine 4y ago
I'm originally from the mid-Atlantic and have heard of Wake Forest, mainly in the context of the NC Research Triangle (Wake is kinda outside of the Triangle, but close enough). And also basketball. But ask me what they do well there in a research or academic sense... no idea. Why you'd chose to go there instead of one of the big state schools in the Triangle (or Duke, which is private) is unknown.

arrosenberg 4y ago

Every college basketball fan knows Wake Forest because Tim Duncan played there.

panzagl 4y ago

If you're even mildly aware of college sports you've heard of Wake Forest. And like many schools in the Southeast, the name means more locally. Also, not everyone has to become a developer.

slg 4y ago
And this is one of the main reasons schools spend money on sports. It is a very cost-efficient form of marketing. I'm not just aware of the name Wake Forrest because of sports, but I know that it is a tough academic school and think highly of its graduates because of sports.
- temporarara 4y ago
  This is exactly why I don't follow college sports. In my honest opinion sports is an important aspect of life but the place for it is not in academia (whether used for marketing or not). It really devalues and even humiliates the academic institutions and their research if all you know about them is that they've got a good sports team.
  - slg 4y ago
    > It really devalues and even humiliates the academic institutions and their research if all you know about them is that they've got a good sports team. I think you misunderstood my point. Sports was my introduction to the school. That does not mean sports is the only thing I know about the school. I learned about their academic reputation because of sports.

dieselgate 4y ago

Oh well it doesn’t really matter if one person from the internet hasnt heard of it, wake forest even has a medical school. Thinking of how “good” an institution is based on name recognition doesn’t scale that well or mean that much. What about McGill University or Reed College? Not trying to be snarky or rude it’s just not a solid metric to gauge things like this based on personal familiarity, given how vast the world is.

strikelaserclaw 4y ago
i think OP's point was just about ROI from going to a certain school. Wake forest might be a great school but paying 60-65k per year to go there isn't what i would say is a good move financially. Just my personal opinion but if a person's talent and skill are kept constant, then the difference in life outcomes (financially, professionally) for that person from going to wake forest vs going to a tier 3 school which is much cheaper is probably not that great. On the other end, going to MIT could affect your life in a significant way, maybe your roomate is the next Bill Gates.
- taylodl 4y ago
  The whole point is only the ultra-rich (or woefully ignorant) are paying the full retail price for college. Very few people are paying $65K to go to Wake Forest. If they want you then they'll make it affordable for you. If they don't want you then the retail price should drive you away. If you're a sucker then they'll gladly take your money. That's the game colleges have been playing for at least the last 40 years.
red-iron-pine 4y ago
Outside of a few folks in NE, no one in the US knows what McGill is. Source: American in Canada, have a buncha in-laws who went to McGill. No idea what Reed College is.
- dieselgate 4y ago
  That was kind of my point, McGill is one of the most prestigious universities in Canada/North America/the world and most Americans would have never heard of it

dieselgate 4y ago

I think “state school” refers more towards “Utah state university” instead of university of Utah etc. Don’t think people would refer to UT or UoA as state schools They’re all massive state run institutions though

red-iron-pine 4y ago
"state school" doesn't have anything to do with the name having the word "state" in it. it means the school is funded by the individual states; it's not private. U of Texas is absolutely and unquestionable a state school -- it is funded and run by the state of Texas. People absolutely would refer to it in the category of "state schools" -- it's not a private institution compared to something like Rice or Baylor.
- dieselgate 4y ago
  We’re both right and I mentioned they’re obviously state run institutions. if someone in Michigan says “I go to state” someone isn’t gonna reply “oh University of Michigan or michigan state?” Edit: in California the csu (California state university) system is considered the state university system and is different organizationally than the UC (university of California) system. Though they’re both public state run institutions.

red-iron-pine 4y ago

I'm originally from the mid-Atlantic and have heard of Wake Forest, mainly in the context of the NC Research Triangle (Wake is kinda outside of the Triangle, but close enough). And also basketball. But ask me what they do well there in a research or academic sense... no idea. Why you'd chose to go there instead of one of the big state schools in the Triangle (or Duke, which is private) is unknown.